Life is Sweet!

I can't begin to tell you how happy we are! We finally closed on our home and are starting the moving in process tomorrow! It has been a long road and far more emotional then I have ever thought possible. Here is a before picture! I am so excited to see what Jacob is going to do with the yard! As you can see there is some pruning that needs to be done! We had a great Realtor working with us and we are so excited to finally be in our own home! What a blessing!!!

The other big news in our family is we are expecting again!! This was a very pleasant surprise for us! Most of my readers know last year we lost a baby. It was a very hard time for us and we weren't sure if we could have anymore children. So, this pregnancy is very unexpected but very welcomed!! We are thrilled!  

Cloth Diapering

So, I have to share with you my thoughts on cloth diapering. I LOVE IT!!! When Iyla was first born we did cloth diapers using a diaper service. Iyla did really well with them. The diaper service was great too! It was very affordable, around  $65 a month . We received 100 newborn size diapers a week. They provided a pail and deodorizers and earth friendly liners. It was so fun to get our weekly delivery. The reason we used a service was because we didn't have a washer and dryer in our apartment so using a service was the best option. Hauling dirty diapers to the laundromat with a newborn and toddler in toe is not my idea of fun!

We used cloth diapers until Iyla was about 6 months old. The covers we used were rented from the diaper service and we kinda of old and the Velcro was not as strong. When Iyla started to crawl the covers were coming undone and since this was my first time in the realm of cloth diapering, I didn't think about simply switching covers. We just started using disposable again. Man, was I sorry we chose that! Almost right after we switched Iyla started having horrible diaper rashes and welts on her skin from the diapers. It took her about a month or so to get used to them. I felt so bad but we didn't have the money to pay the re-start up for the service so I just did the best I could with the disposables.

Now that we have access to a washer and dryer I have made the decision to switch back to cloth diapers, AND wash them myself! I spent 45 dollars in diapers and supplies back in April and have not spent a cent on diapers since! We normally spent about 50 dollars a month on diapers. So not only have we broken even on our original investment but have an extra $100 in our pocket! By the end of the year we will have saved another $300! That is a lot of money! Iyla has not had a diaper rash since we switched back.

I have also experimented with sewing cloth diapers. I have really enjoyed it. I especially like using old clothes to make diapers. They work really well and we are so glad we switched back!

I know a lot of you are thinking, that's just fine but cleaning the diapers so so gross! Well, I don't think so. it takes about 30 seconds to rinse our a poopy diaper and toss it in the pail. I do a load of diapers about every other day. I toss the diapers in the wash with about 1/4 the amount of soap one would use for a normal load of cloths and set the washing setting to hot water with a super rinse. A round in the dryer and I have diapers for the next few days. I find it much more convenient then having to drive all the way to the store walk to the back of the store (for some reason, items you REALLY need are in the back!!) walk up front, stand in line, pay 30 to 40 dollars for your diapers and then drive home. I take about a 2 minutes out of my day and never have to leave home!
This topic is one of those things that I think is hard to convince someone to go along with. I have talked to a few of my friends about this and I don't know if I convinced any of them to switch. I have brought up the convenience factor and the money saving factor... nothing. I have even mentioned that there are billions of tons of diapers in landfills all over the world and still I don't think I have convinced them.

I do know this, it works well for our family and I am so glad we have made the switch back and I hope anyone reading this who is on the fence gives it a try. I hope you love it!!

A Fresh Face, A New View

I updated my blog layout. It looked ok before but I really like the way it turned out. I am not the most tecinical person but I somehow figured out how to redesign the layout in a way that makes my blog look better. I think you can really get a feel of who I am my looking at my blog. I try to always to be honest and let my readers know the real me. I am interested in so many things and I love learning!

There are a few issues I feel very strongly about and I have never really had the guts to share them for fear of offending someone or not having as much information as someone else reading the post and looking stupid. I am by no means a political person and I don't always have every side of an issue before I form an opinion on the matter, so I tend to keep my mouth shut.  But then again, not many people take the time to hear out an issue from both sides before deciding how they feel. I guess what I am trying to say is I am not afraid anymore. There, I said it. I feel better now!

I'm on a Roll!

Well, after not blogging for so long one gets to thinking, well, that wasn't a very blogworthy day, but Saturday was one of those days that turned out to be crazy enough for a few blogs at least! But since I don't have picture posting ability at the moment I think I can get it all out in one posting.


 Saturday was going to be a fun packed day. We had lots planed and I was really excited to get going. At 10 in the morning we went to ta Birthday party for one of Isabella's friends. The girls had a blast! Iyla even tried to play duck duck goose (Cinderella, Cinderella, Mouse of this party!) Afterward we met up with a few of our very good friends for lunch at Sizzler. Sizzler is by far my favorite restaurant to take my family. Not only are the girls young enough to eat free but the salad bar is full of fresh fruits and veggies which makes it so easy for me to make sure Bella gets a dairy free meal.We always have fun there. After the meal we went to Tumwater falls park for the Rotary Club's Annual Duck Dash.For those of you not from around here, the Duck Dash is a really great fundraiser. People can buy a ticket for 5 dollars with a number the corresponds to a rubber ducky. At 4 o'clock they lift a huge crate full of rubber duckies over the falls and drop them. at the end of the falls they have a net and the first 15 duckies the cross the finish line win amazing prizes. Well, we didn't win anything as usual but we were glad to help the Rotary club fund scholarships.

Our day was going just fine at this point. My brother and my mom watched our girls so Jacob and I could go to a birthday party for one of our cousins. We went to a very loud Mexican restaurant. There was no way to hear the cell phone in that place and I am not the best at checking it often. After we finished our amazing dinner I was wondering what time is was and took a look at the cell phone and I had 2 texts from my brother that said *CALL NOW* and *CALL MOM STAT!!** Of course I flipped out! I ran out of the restaurant and called to find out that Iyla had pushed a chair over to a high shelf and climbed up and got into the reed diffuser and drank the oil!!! They had taken Iyla to the ER and just got finished with the DR and she was going to be ok but was really upset. We left as politely as we could and drove the the hospital as fast as we could! I was amazed I didn't get a ticket driving 80 on the freeway! By the time we got to the ER Iyla had just been discahrged with an order to drink as much milk as she could stand. I rushed over to her and scooped her up in my arms and after she stopped crying she threw up ALL over me!! Ahh gotta love those mom momnets! But at least it smelled like cinnamon! We took her home and cuddled her all night through all of her coughing fits. The Cinnamon oil was really irritating to her. By sunday afternoon she was back to normal, thank goodness!

What a day! By the time it was over it felt like 2 days!! We love our Iyla very much but man, can she get herself into a pickle!!

I know, I know, I know...

I deserve a HUGE tongue lashing for not posting in so long! I guess I just got out of the habit and all of a sudden lost interest in blogging all together. It might sound weird but I really think it was because I had that stupid boot on my foot! You know when you get a boot put on your car for a parking infraction so they can tow it later? That is how I felt with the boot on my foot. Stuck. I felt totally and completely stuck. Stuck in my life, in my calling at Church, in my relationship with my husband. I really felt like I could not go forward and live my life at all. It was hard to walk, drive, take care of my kids let alone my house. It's amazing to me now that I felt that way then, but I did. I had that boot on my foot until the end of April. I had been looking so forward to getting that boot off for so long and when I finally did nothing changed! I still felt the same. For the first time I could not just will myself to feel better. I was shocked. So naturally I went to my knees and prayed for a way to get out of my funk and start being to kind of wife, mother, and friend the Lord wanted me to be. I know he was listening because very soon after that our lives changed completely!!!

We got ourselves a big change, or more rightly, we are in the middle of a huge change. We are buying a house! And not just any house, but a house 35 minutes away from where we used to live. Not only will we be attending another ward but it will be in another stake. We are moving to a new town as well. We thought we would be in the house by now but we are still waiting to close.


Live has been crazy for us these past few months. The girls are growing like weeds! Here are some updates I have neglected to share with you

•  Iyla started Nursery!! She has gone for a few months now and does really well. The teachers were awesome and really took a liking to her. 
• Iyla is also drinking out of a "big girl" cup! 
• We switched back to cloth diapers and Iyla is really enjoying it! It works so much better for her skin. I have not had to use diaper cream since the switch!!
• Isabella had a birthday! She is now 4 years old! Her birthday party was a smashing success as usual. IT was a Princess tea party. 16 children attended and from what I have heard from the parents, all of the kids had a great time.
• In school Isabella is getting really good at her Italian! She can count to 20, she knows all of her colors, and a lot of animals. She is learning to say a meal prayer in Italian as well. Isabella is also getting really good a writing her letters. She has trouble with the letter S the numbers 2 and 5 but she can write all the others! She is starting to learn to spell her name and a few other words like N-A-P,P-O-P,  D-E-S-S-E-R-T, B-A-T-H ,all of the important words Jacob and I spell to each other!! She is about half way through Kindergarten, right on track since we are doing Kindergarten for 2 years.
• I cut my hair. It's not a huge difference in length but has some desperately needed layers. It's been a long time since I have actually enjoyed a hair cut for so long.
• Jacob is doing very well at work and I couldn't be prouder of him!

I don't have a way to post pictures at the moment since our computer is packed up with most everything else we own! But once we get settled I will get some up. I hope you all are doing well and if I forgot anything I am sorry. Type ya later!!